[1][2] The broad categories of priority sector for all scheduled commercial banks are as under: (i) Agriculture and Allied Activities (Direct and Indirect finance): Direct finance to agriculture shall include short, medium and long term loans given for agriculture and allied activities directly to individual farmers, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) or Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) of individual farmers without limit and to others (such as corporate, partnership firms and institutions) up to Rs.
Instead, the lending to agriculture sector has been re-defined to include (i) Farm Credit (which will include short-term crop loans and medium/long-term credit to farmers) (ii) Agriculture Infrastructure and (iii) Ancillary Activities,[3][4] (ii) Small Scale Industries (Direct and Indirect Finance): Direct finance to small scale industries (SSI) shall include all loans given to SSI units which are engaged in manufacture, processing or preservation of goods and whose investment in plant and machinery (original cost) excluding land and building does not exceed the amounts specified in Section I, appended.
50,000 per borrower to the poor in rural, semi-urban and urban areas, either directly or through a group mechanism, for enabling them to improve their living standards, will constitute micro credit.
(2) Investments by banks in securitised assets, representing loans to agriculture (direct or indirect), small scale industries (direct or indirect) and housing, shall be eligible for classification under respective categories of priority sector (direct or indirect) depending on the underlying assets, provided the securitised assets are originated by banks and financial institutions and fulfill the Reserve Bank of India guidelines on securitisation.
(3) Under Weaker Sections : Priority sector loans to the following borrowers are considered under Weaker Sections category:- (a) Small and marginal farmers; (b) Artisans, village and cottage industries where individual credit limits do not exceed Rs 1 Lakh ; (c) Beneficiaries of Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), now National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM); (d) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; (e) Beneficiaries of Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme; (f) Beneficiaries under Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY); (g) Beneficiaries under the Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS); (h) Loans to Self Help Groups; (i) Loans to distressed farmers indebted to non-institutional lenders; (j) Loans to distressed persons other than farmers not exceeding Rs 1 Lakh per borrower to prepay their debt to non-institutional lenders; (k) Loans to individual women beneficiaries up to Rs 1 Lakh per borrower.